The Red Ribbon
by Sushi Shea Shogun
Summary: A storm, a child, a man, and a red ribbon. What exactly happened on the day Karai met Oroku Saki? 2k3-verse, One-shot.


_This little story was sitting as a stump in my writing bank, and was one of the only ones I had a clear middle and end for. So, I finished it, cleaned it up, and posted it for you guys to see. I had sworn that the next time I posted would be of something darker, but I suppose this stuff comes more naturally to me. Ha ha ha ha ha! Yeah, not what one would usually associate with Karai and Saki, but I honestly think their relationship is much more complex than writers give it credit for. So I suppose you could say I wanted to take a road less walked.  
_

_Am I going on too much? Sorry. That's all for now!_

_~S.S.S_

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**The Red Ribbon**

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"Wait here. We'll be back for you."

Karai stood alone at that train station for the longest time, long after the train had disappeared down the dark tunnel. Holding to that promise as tightly as she clutched the tails of the red ribbon tied carefully into her short hair. Waiting.

It never happened.

So, when she could stand there no more, when shadows loomed about her like waiting beasts and hunger throbbed in her stomach, she left, and wandered.

Through the following two days, she walked the tattered streets alone, her sleeveless black shirt and sweats stained with dirt from sleeping on the ground. Most pretended they could not see her. They kept their eyes high above her head as they weaved around her, sometimes shoving past her with nary a care, save for small pardons uttered in Japanese. Some would give her sad looks or point at her as they conversed with their neighbors on the sad state of affairs, but soon would return to their papers, their strolls, their pets, or their sons. Dare she linger too long in any one place, and property owners or police officers would either do all but chase her off for loitering, or tell her to go home before dark.

She never told them that the very clothes on her back were stolen for her by her father. That all she had that was truly hers was her ribbon - a parting gift from her mother. That she no longer had a home to go to.

For the most part, she didn't bother with the people around her or their gestures. She usually paid mind to little but the dirtied toes of her own sandals as she kept along the roads, slow and aimless, and it was no different today. But the sky grew dark, the air grew humid and heavy, and thunder growled behind the clotted mass of ash colored clouds as the winds sent her long ribbon laces fluttering wildly. Self-preservation finally kicked in; she knew that the storm would be too harsh for her. She would have to find shelter, and soon.

She lifted her head to assess her surroundings, stroking her ribbon beneath her thumb to calm her mind. The place held stark contrast with the bright city towering above it on the horizon; the buildings were mostly small and faded with age, with crumbling walls and trash littering the ground. The alleyways were dark, barren, and lifeless. The streets had quickly emptied under the threat of rain, and she was almost completely alone.

From what she gathered, she only had two options: either find a home that was willing to house her for the night, or search for a place to curl up in until the storm passed. While not a child that was warm to strangers, she found the second option the most unpleasant. So, she decided to try some of the houses down the road. But every house she approached seemed to have some sort of excuse for why they could not even answer her, much less take her in for the night. Though she could see warm lights flickering in some windows and the muffled murmuring of voices behind the walls, the people who lived there ignored her when she knocked on their doors. Soon, there were no more doors to try.

So, Karai set off again, this time looking for anywhere - _anything _- that could keep her dry in the rain. The tickle of raindrop flecks on her cheeks grew more frequent by the minute, and made her frantic; she found herself bolting in and out of alleys as she pried at cellar doors, yanked the handles of locked warehouses, and looked for broken or missing windows. And now the wind was picking up, sending her hair whirling in a mess of black strands -

A flash of red flitted past her, just out of the corner of her eye.

Her ribbon! With a cry of shock, she tried to grab for it, but it weaved easily out of her grasp in the wind's throes. Even then, she chased it; her feet flew across the pavement, always right on its tail, and she nearly plowed into a passing man with an umbrella in her pursuit - _just a bit farther_ - !

But to no avail. In the end, she could only slow to an exhausted stop and watch helplessly, her chest heaving, as her parents' last gift winded far out of her reach and off toward the looming city beyond. She stood there for a long time, half-disbelieving, half solemn as she stared at the open air where it had vanished.

Gone. It was gone.

The rain was no longer gentle. It cascaded in waves, soaking anything without a roof over its' head. Karai herself was already dripping wet, her clothes slumping heavily, the cloth now ruined. With an unnatural stiffness, she turned on the spot and walked to the nearest ragged door. Turned the knob and pushed hard.

The door groaned and fell with a thud, its sound muffled by the hiss of rain and roars of thunder. The place was practically collapsing in on itself, with crumbled walls and a sagging, moldy ceiling. Old, peeling paint curled up on itself in the corners, and the glinting, beady eyes of rats leered out at her from the crevices of debris. It was better than nothing. All it needed was a door.

Karai found what she needed in one of the back rooms; a tattered, red blanket. After beating the dirt out of the fabric briefly, she ran the splitting corners through her fingers. It didn't feel like her ribbon - too thick and heavy - but she liked its familiar red color. It was comforting to her. A perfect door.

She was a short child, and (after pushing the useless door out of the way) had to grind up a stool out of a pile of broken concrete nearby before she could hang the blanket in the door frame, digging the thread into a few sharp jags in the wall to hold it in place. Once she was certain of its place, she backed up into the room to admire her handiwork. The cloth rippled smoothly in the wind, but otherwise stayed right where she put it, with only a few scratches on her arms to pay for it. Somehow, for some reason, the wind spared it. If only it had been so kind to her ribbon.

Karai found herself simply watching the blanket flutter, and she blinked hard to pull out of her trance before gazing around at the room. Barren, and full of nothing. So, she would do nothing, too. Kicking a few stray chunks of gravel aside, she settled down on the floor, tucked her knees to her chest for warmth, and watched the storm outside pour and roar beyond the flimsy shelter. The storm gusts howled and rattled the panes as if frustrated at its inability to reach her, and she glared at where she was sure it's hissing, wailing head would be if it had one; she had bested that storm, and the thieving wind would just have to live with it. Find another little girl to torment.

Then, movement from outside; a dark shadow loomed behind the blanket, tall and menacing. Karai's head snapped to look towards the doorway, and she froze for a moment before scrambling away from the entrance, retreating for the mounds of debris behind her. The shadow paused, surely staring through the blanket and seeing her as well as she could see it. The fabric folded in the grip of a calloused hand.

Karai sucked in a breath.

The blanket pulled aside, and a man stepped into the room. His clothes were mostly white and loose, drenched as her own and decorated only by a quilted, grayish blue vest with strange crimson symbols upon each breast. His skin was light, and his wet black hair fell like silk curtains from his head, fanning out in clumps on his shoulders. Her gaze slowly rose to the umbrella held over his shoulder; a deep red, glistening with rain water.

She recognized the shape. He was the man she had run into before. He had followed her. Why? Was he angry? A thug? Would he hurt her? Kidnap her? Kill her?

Despite the panic whirling in her head, Karai tried to compose herself and straightened up against the mound she had pressed into. She had learned quickly from her experience in solitude that simpering or shrinking away did not ward off unwanted adults; she looked him straight in the eyes and narrowed her own, ignoring the plunge in her stomach when his gaze split through hers like the head of an arrow.

She kept her face stony even as he knelt to her level. He held out a clenched fist, and her chest tightened.

But he neither struck Karai, nor grabbed her. Instead, he opened his hand. There in his palm rested her ribbon, slightly soggy from its flight, but otherwise perfectly in tact. Karai's façade instantly fell into one of wide-eyed shock.

"Is this yours?" asked the man simply. His voice was low and even, not at all what she expected. Not at all threatening.

Karai didn't speak. She simply nodded, her attentions fixed on the ribbon in his hand. When she did nothing else, the man added patiently, "Then you may have it back."

Karai blinked and nodded once more. As she took the ribbon into her own hands and wove it gently through her fingers, she lifted her head to look at him with more objectivity. His eyes weren't as intimidating to her anymore. On the contrary, his gaze, though not particularly warm, held respect for her, void of any condescension. It made her feel more welcome than she had in a while.

"I am Oroku Saki," said the man. "I saw you running earlier. You are very fast. A valuable talent. You should use it often."

Karai nodded with a touch of eagerness. "I run a lot," she said. It was the first thing she had said to anyone in a long time. "From people and dogs and things."

"And what is your name?"

"Karai."

Saki studied her before glancing around the room, his face shadowed by something Karai had trouble understanding; like the cloud of a bitter memory. "You are alone?"

A pause filled by nothing but the plunking of raindrops on the window. Karai lowered her head, feeling hollow as she gave a slow nod.

"Well, Karai," Saki continued, the strange expression now gone; he stood to his full height once more, and Karai copied him without thought. "I live just outside of the city. You are welcome to stay there when you may need to." With a small bow, he turned on the spot, and walked back toward the door.

For a moment, Karai simply watched him. She slid her ribbon gently between her fingers, now safe in her grasp, and studied the trail of dark water spots Saki left as he disappeared behind the blanket. He likely had to close his umbrella and abandon it's protection to catch it for her.

Karai's speed through the doorway ripped the blanket from its perch as Karai darted after him, and she quickly caught up a little ways down the sidewalk. Saki gave a small smile as she fell into step beside him, and lifted his umbrella to shield them both from the rain. "You ought to tie that ribbon around your forehead instead of your hair. You wouldn't want to lose it again."

As he put a hand on her shoulder, they left the old building behind, and walked down the road together.


End file.
